Case Studies

　I am in charge of the temporary staffing division within the Pasona Group. I don’t just introduce registered staff to client companies; I also often build long-term relationships with each individual—for example, by suggesting, “Why not take a training course to prepare for your next assignment?” when their temporary assignment ends, or by staying in regular contact with them—whether they’re currently on assignment or not—while they use our childcare and eldercare services.

　Ten years ago, communication was primarily conducted over the phone or in person. In the staffing industry, it’s important for us to understand what kind of work and work arrangements our registered staff are looking for so we can match them with suitable opportunities. However, with so many staff members now registered with us, to be honest, there are some areas that we simply can’t cover fully through phone calls and face-to-face meetings alone. Given how much IT has advanced, I’ve long felt that it’s necessary to leverage technology to enhance our communication.

　I’ve been using email as an IT tool for a long time, but I feel like its effectiveness has been declining year by year. People are moving away from computers these days, aren’t they? I wonder if smartphone use has become the main way people communicate. I was thinking about what method would be easy for people who use smartphones a lot to receive messages and allow for direct communication, and that’s when I realized, “There’s SMS”—and that’s what sparked my interest.

　Back during the Lehman Shock, there wasn’t much work, so when I called staff members, I could speak with them right away. Now, however, the opposite is true—work has increased, and job seekers are able to choose from a variety of options. I imagine you’re receiving a lot of emails—not just from us, but probably from other companies as well.Experienced and highly skilled candidates, in particular, are receiving a lot of phone calls. However, from the staff’s perspective, there are so many emails that they can’t keep up with reading them all, and they can’t answer every single phone call. Women, in particular, often feel reluctant to answer calls from unknown numbers. This was the background behind this situation, which has become a source of frustration for both sides.

　When you send an SMS, your cell phone or smartphone vibrates, and a notification appears on the screen, right? It’s easy to notice, and you can see the message without even answering the call. These days, more and more people aren’t signing up for voicemail, so if you send an SMS saying, “That was a call from Pasona,” they’ll see the missed call and feel reassured enough to call you back. I think it’s incredibly convenient to use this in combination with phone calls.
　Of course, when it comes to introducing job opportunities, talking with someone is an essential part of communication for getting to know their personality and understanding their true thoughts, so it’s still just as important as ever to have a final conversation over the phone or in person.

　For example, I also use it when I need to send an urgent message to staff who are out on assignment. Often, they aren’t allowed to bring their cell phones to the client site, and there are work environments where it’s difficult to get someone to put a call through while they’re working. I’ve found that SMS is the most effective way to get a message across when staff check their phones during breaks. The best part is that it catches their eye immediately when they open their phone and they can read it right away. Often, a call comes in right then during their break, so the response is always quick.

　I view the character limit in a positive light. Rather than starting with a greeting like in an email, being able to convey only the essential message concisely is actually a good thing—it’s a fresh way of thinking.
I think 70 characters is plenty to trigger the thought, “Oh, I’ve got a message. I should give them a call” or “I should check my email.”
　Some people might think it’s rude not to include a greeting, but since we often post short updates on Twitter and Instagram these days, none of our staff have mentioned that it bothers them so far.

　There wasn’t really any opposition. As for SMS, I think some people were already using it on company-issued cell phones even before we implemented Acrit’s SMS service. So I think that made the transition a bit easier. Also, since we’ve had many opportunities to introduce new IT systems within the company over the past few years, there was probably a favorable environment for adoption—a sort of “Let’s make the most of IT!” attitude. It’s fun to try out new things, isn’t it?

　The admin interface is incredibly easy to use. You can just figure it out intuitively. When we first rolled it out, some people said, “Are we really implementing yet another new system?” But when I told them, “It’s easy—just give it a try,” they were able to use it right away. All I had to do was show the team leaders how it works, and they took it from there and spread the word to their team members. We didn’t even need to hold a company-wide training session, so it was really easy to implement.

　I often provide additional details via text message and discuss them further over the phone. Other than that, since we’re limited to 70 characters, I leave it up to each member to decide what kind of message to send.

　I was a little worried before we started, but in reality, we didn’t receive any complaints. Our company has long-standing relationships with our registered staff, and since we often communicate not only via text message but also by phone and email, the relationships we’ve built may be the reason we haven’t received any complaints. It’s also possible that our staff are simply used to using text messages in their daily lives, so they don’t mind receiving messages from us.

　As part of our corporate initiative, we have adopted the “Work-Joy People” philosophy (“Creating Work,” “Enjoying Life,” and “Nurturing Talent”). We aim to leverage group synergy to further strengthen our efforts to build a society where workers can thrive.
　On a personal level, I want to create more opportunities for each staff member to work in the way they desire. I am committed to doing my part in the work at hand to help bring us even a little closer to a diverse society where everyone who wishes to work can find a job that suits them individually.